New ethanol terminal in Birmingham could mean cheaper gas, CEO says

A truck fills up with ethanol at the new BlendStar terminal at a BNSF Railway yard north and west of downtown. (Stan Diel/al.com)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A new $17 million ethanol terminal near I-65 and Finley Boulevard could lower the cost of gasoline at the pump for Alabama consumers, the CEO of the terminal's owner said today.

The BlendStar, LLC terminal, which receives ethanol via BNSF Railway Co. trains and transfers it to trucks, will lower the cost of delivery, said Todd Becker, president and CEO of BlendStar's parent company, Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. That may translate into lower prices for ethanol, which makes up 10 percent of gasoline that's sold to consumers.

"The faster unloading will provide cost economies that hopefully will be passed on at the pump," Becker said at the dedication of the new facility. Ethanol typically is mixed with gasoline as it is sold at service stations.

The facility, which opened in December and has a capacity of 300 million gallons a year, can unload 78 trains a month, each with 96 cars carrying ethanol. It's the newest and most efficient of BlendStar's eight terminals, said Paul Melton, general manager.

The new terminal, on more than 20 acres of land leased from BNSF Railway, will serve Alabama and parts of Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida.